1. Use high-quality packaging
Have you ever picked up a product – and from its weight, heft, and feel – you can tell it is a thing of pure quality?
Well, the same goes for packaging.
Whether they realise it or not, consumers can tell the difference between poor-quality and high-quality packaging.
If you want to stand out from your eCommerce peers, then you need to invest in high-quality packaging.
After all, first impressions count.
Should a customer find themselves unimpressed with your packaging, that impression is likely to extend to the product inside too – which doesn’t bode well for your prospects of selling them anything else in the future.
Quality is king. That’s why here at Prest Group, we aim to produce the very best quality packaging you can find.
2. Use packaging that protects your packaging
This might seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how often eCommerce companies use packaging that’s insufficient for the task of safely conveying a product to their end customers.
According to some studies, 20% of eCommerce returns are in some way related to the product being damaged in transit.
Think of the typical product journey; starting off at its place of manufacture, being transported to your warehouse, then on to a delivery truck for despatch, and finally delivery to the customer’s home address.
That sort of journey can expose a product to lots of knocks, bumps, falls, and other types of movement and collisions. So, make sure you use packaging that is able to provide sufficient protection to your products!
Here at Prest Group, our eCommerce packaging is made from corrugated board consisting of three layers of strong craft paper. This construction means that our packaging provides maximum protection to products.
3. Use packaging that fits your product
Have you ever bought an Apple product? If so, you’ll know the joy that comes with opening one of their packages. Everything is packed away to the very last millimetre. There’s ZERO wasted space.
Not only is this aesthetically pleasing, but it adds an element of tactile enjoyment to the unboxing experience.
Most importantly, it achieves the perfect balance between having enough packaging to provide protection to the product, but not so much packaging that it feels wasteful (which is significant given consumer concerns around sustainability).
So, try to strike that balance with your own packaging, and use-size appropriate packaging solutions.
4. Use packaging with stylish external designs
Why stick to plain old white or brown cardboard packaging? Today’s eCommerce industry is more competitive than ever, so it can pay (literally) to invest in creating stylish packaging.
Not only will branded packaging make your brand more memorable (and thus enhance the likelihood of repeat future purchases), but it provides a premium feel to your product and enhances the unboxing experience.
5. Use packaging with stylish internal designs
You’ve no doubt heard the phrase “it’s what’s inside that counts”. Well, that saying applies to packaging too!
If you really want to blow your customers away, then invest in packaging that not only has a stylish, beautiful design on the outside, but one on the inside too.
This creates a nice surprise when the customer opens the box. After all, most people will expect to see a plain brown interior. With a stylish interior design, your packaging will truly stand out from the other packages that consumers open on a regular basis.
6. Use environmentally-friendly void filler
To make sure your products arrive safe and sound with your customers, you’re probably going to be using some form of void filler to fill the empty spaces in the packaging surrounding your products.
This is important, but don’t do so at the expense of the environment!
The traditional void filler has been styrofoam peanuts or bubble wrap, but as consumers are increasingly becoming aware, these materials are made from oil and gas and present a significant recycling problem.
So, choose an environmentally-friendly void filler instead. The list of eco-friendly options grows by the day, including void filler made from renewable materials such as bamboo, wheat straw, and even fungi.
Choose eco-friendly void filler for your packaging, and your customers (and the environment) will thank you!
7. Try reusable packaging
Following on from the point above, if you really want to showcase your green credentials, then why not consider using packaging which can be reused and repurposed?
This can be as simple as using robust, high-quality printed boxes which can be easily reused to store small items and other knick-knacks.
As we mentioned earlier, if you invest in packaging that has a beautifully-printed exterior design, you’ll find that many consumers decide to keep it and reuse it anyway.
The key is to make sure you’ve invested in quality packaging, which is well-designed and manufactured. Cheap packaging will typically barely weather the journey to the customer, let alone be able to handle reuse.
8. Invest in luxury packaging
If you truly want to stand out from the crowd – especially if you operate in a highly competitive eCommerce retail vertical such as fashion or cosmetics – then you’re going to want to invest in luxury packaging.
Luxury packaging incorporates premium materials such as high-quality board, sleek foiling, embossed logos, spot UV finishes and more, to create packaging that is unrivalled.
This type of packaging naturally can also include beautiful printed designs, creating an unboxing experience that is genuinely special (think about our Apple example earlier).
9. Use creative packing slips
Do you include packing slips with your orders? Then why not move away from the plain old white slip, and embrace a more creative approach instead?
Try different colours and stocks of paper. Don’t just put the necessary information on the slip, but why not add a creative and friendly message of thanks too? These small things can add up to a big feeling of satisfaction for your customers!
10. Choose a packaging provider that will work collaboratively with you
When you decide to begin the journey of creating the best possible packaging for your eCommerce products, you want to choose a packaging provider that can work collaboratively with you.
As such, select a packaging provider that can work with you on a one-to-one basis to come up with innovative packaging designs that perfectly complement your products.
This collaborative approach should extend to the production of digital samples, so you can get a clear idea as to what your packaging will look like in the flesh.
In fact, the very best packaging companies will even provide you with HD printed samples, so you can handle your packaging in the flesh before it goes to production.
So make sure you pick that kind of packaging company. A packaging company like Prest Group.
Bring your products to life with innovative packaging
We hope you’ve found our guide to packaging best practices both useful and interesting.
If you want to embrace these best practices in your packaging, then speak to the Prest Group today. Our team of friendly experts will be happy to discuss your requirements in detail.